If you suspect that your health has been damaged by exposure to asbestos there are powerful reasons why you should contact a solicitor without delay. In one case, an ex-scaffolder’s decision to take legal advice before his death from asbestos-related cancer ultimately led to his
Many family trusts are of some antiquity and there is a tendency for their terms to lose touch with the modern world. However, as a case concerning a noble family showed, judges have all the powers required to bring them up to date. The case
Due to the great public interest in an effective national telecommunications network, mobile phone operators can require landowners to provide plots for their equipment. However, as with any intrusive rights that can be imposed on the unwilling, the rules that apply before they can be
Validly restricting the post-termination conduct of employees and partners involves striking a careful balance between business protection and personal freedom, and that is why professional drafting is indispensable. An instructive case on point concerned a partner in a professional services firm who was banned from
In the interests of future flexibility, local authorities often understandably wish to keep housing land in reserve for longer-term development. However, as a High Court case showed, the pressing need for more new homes is such that delay cannot always be justified. The case concerned
Patents are designed to encourage innovation and are effectively state-sponsored bargains which confer time-limited monopoly rights on inventors. As an important Supreme Court ruling made clear, however, such rights are restricted to ideas and products that are genuinely innovative. The case concerned a pharmaceutical company’s
When sick or infirm people lack the capacity to make decisions for themselves, the law steps in to protect them – even against the well-meaning interference of loved ones. In a case on point, the High Court banned publication of a video taken of a
The territorial reach of UK Employment Tribunals (ETs) is not without limit and the overseas presence of many British businesses can give rise to difficult jurisdictional issues. A recent case concerned a French lawyer who worked in the Paris office of an international law firm
When the real owner of an asset is different from its formal owner, that fact should always be recorded in writing. However, as a High Court case showed, repeated judicial warnings to that effect all too frequently fall on deaf ears. The case concerned a
Not every breach of contract is so serious as to justify its complete cancellation. The Court of Appeal made that point in a case concerning student accommodation blocks which were not built precisely to specification. Prior to construction of the blocks, a company that specialised
